JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 17, 2013) – Selected by the Atlantic Sun conference head coaches, the ETSU women’s basketball team was picked in a tie for fifth place in a preseason conference poll while senior Destiny Mitchell (Bluffton, Ga.) garnered preseason First Team All A-Sun honors, the league office announced Thursday.

Both with 49 points, the Buccaneers and the North Florida Ospreys were picked in a fifth-place tie. With seven first-place votes, the defending A-Sun regular season champ Florida Gulf Coast (FGCU) was selected first, while the reigning Atlantic Sun Championship victor Stetson was chosen second. In addition, the Bucs were tabbed seventh in a preseason media poll.

ETSU will enter into the Ezell era in 2013-14 coming off of an 8-18 overall campaign and a 6-12 mark in conference play last year. The Blue and Gold return four starters and nine letterwinners from the 2012-13 squad. Among the returnees are six players who started 10 or more games last season.

Highlighted among the returnees is last year’s team-leading scorer and rebounder Mitchell who led the way with 11.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. As is mentioned above, Mitchell was selected by the league head coaches to a ten-member preseason All-Atlantic Sun First Team. Mitchell has notched 25 career double-doubles and is on the cusp of surpassing the 1,000 career-point mark with 978 points currently. Last season, the native Georgian ranked among the top six in the conference in three categories including second in rebounds per game (8.1), fourth in field goal percentage (.500) and sixth in steals per game (1.9).

FGCU senior Sarah Hansen was voted the A-Sun Conference Preseason Player of the Year while Stetson senior Sasha Sims was named the league's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.

The ETSU Bucs will kickoff action in 2013-14 with a home exhibition matchup versus Shepherd University on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 1:30 p.m. Secure your tickets for the upcoming season by clicking here or by calling (423) 439-3878.